Knowledge vs. Wisdom (Narrated by Brainiac 5)

Chaos! Turmoil! Disorder! How did it come to this? What is happening to me?!

The guilt of failing my mission was overwhelming. I felt myself slipping away. As I struggled to regain control, I saw them: Saturn Girl, Triplicate Girl, and Matter Eater Lad. They were all pointing at me, accusing me! I begged them for their forgiveness. They turned their backs on me and disappeared. Then I saw the Superman from the 41st century. His smile was Machiavellian!

"I told you before, 'Once a Brainiac, always a Brainiac.'"

"No. It's not true," I pleaded. How could it be true? I tried to do the right thing. "Everything I've done…it wasn't enough."

I vaguely remember Superman. His face was full of horror and concern. Then, there was darkness. Out of the void, a voice called out to me.

"I refuse to believe that a brilliant mind like yours could be so easily overtaken by this chaos! You will master your thoughts NOW, BRAINIAC!"

Suddenly, I became aware of my surroundings.

"You okay, Brainy? You had me worried."

Superman? Was I lying down? How did that happen?

I ran an internal diagnostic. I had lost consciousness and all 12 of my thought tracks had been in disarray. The last time that happened was during the disaster of undergoing the alignment without the collective mind. No one thought ill of me because of it. What about now? What did Superman think of me now? He helped me to my feet, but I couldn't look at him. I was about to activate the time bubble when he closed his hand around my fingers. It forced me to look up at him.

"Go talk to her."

He looked so sad. Was I the cause of his pain? I felt responsible for his state, and I would have done anything for him at that point.

"Alright, Superman, for you."

"No, Brainy, for you."

Reluctantly, I put on the pink jacket and Supergirl's cape-like headband. I really hated wearing that! It felt so undignified. I realized the lengths I had gone through just to spend more time with Superman and Supergirl. Very few humanoids could ever accuse me of being an irrational being. I always had to be the calm, controlled, and confident one never allowing a moment of emotional instability. My friends were waiting, but I had wanted to have one moment of happiness for myself. I actually enjoyed myself. I usually get this kind of enjoyment when I'm solving complex problems. However, I had let my guard down and had done so many irrational things. I gave away my name and the name of my ancestor Brainiac 2. Perhaps nothing would ever come of it. I looked down at the pink jacket. How could I allow myself to wear this? I was glad that the others could not see me like this.

I needed to process this and analyze my options. I landed by the Smallville billboard. It was about late afternoon when Kara and I had come here. After we had left the Kent's residence, it was about an hour before sundown. Now the sun was setting. When I would normally see the sun, I would ponder the rate of nuclear reaction of the hydrogen molecules to helium. This time, I "saw" the sun as if for the first time. It truly was a remarkable sight and was surprisingly comforting to watch.

I took out the bowl from the jacket pocket. Food was more of a luxury than a necessity. I enjoyed the variety of tastes and textures of different foods. As I finished off the last of Martha Kent's soup, I suddenly became aware of a presence above me.

It wasn't Supergirl. It was a woman with large eagle-like wings. She had been circling and now landed about 10 feet from me. At first, she just stood still. She looked at me as if trying to figure me out. Then, she reached to her side and drew her mace-like weapon. By all appearances, she was ready to attack. However, she had an almost tranquil expression on her face. Her grip on the mace was loose. Such posture suggested that she really didn't want to attack. Otherwise, her body would be tense in anticipation of a battle. I couldn't help but notice how she moved with such poise, grace, and confidence. Her name?

"Hmmm. Ah, yes. Shayera Hal, formally Hawk Girl, of Thanagar and one of the founding members of the Justice League."

"That's right. You don't seem surprised to see me." She walked toward me.

"Not at all. Superman said that something had come up. He seemed troubled. I surmised that my presence on the Watchtower did not go unnoticed."

She laughed softly.

"The last time they were this divided was when they were deciding whether or not I should stay in the League."

She continued to come closer and powered up her mace.

"Aren't you going to fight, Brainiac?" She lifted her mace over her head and was now standing a mere foot from me.

"No. If I did that, I would only live up to your skewed view of what a Brainiac is. Besides, I can tell that you really don't want to fight me."

She smiled and powered down her mace. Her smile was, I believe the correct term is, warm. She had a glow about her. Maybe it was the warm red tones from the setting sun. She had such a calming presence.

"Nice jacket."

"Can we not talk about that?" I said dejectedly and changed the subject. "You said that the founding members were divided."

"Flash, Martian, and I are on your side," she said.

"If you are on my side, then why the pretense?"

"I wanted to see for myself if you are the person you say you are."

"Am I?"

"That…" she cocked her head to the side, "And maybe more. How are you?"

"Adequate. Why are you here?"

She sighed and faced the sun.

"After you left the Tower, Batman showed us the surveillance tapes of you Superman, Supergirl, and Green Arrow. We had a rather heated discussion. I had to excuse myself." Her face contorted in disgust. "Sometimes I don't think I like where the League is headed. We seem to have become a law unto ourselves. I've learned the hard way that if you have to keep convincing yourself that you are doing the right thing, then you probably aren't doing the right thing."

"You haven't answered my question," I said indignantly.

She turned to me. "I've been monitoring you since you left the Kents' house. I've been thinking about your story, the one about the greater loss. I had to choose between my duty as a Thanagarian solider and the Earth. I just hope that you never have to make that choice."

"Doubtful. My people are not warriors. They just like to ponder theories. They never do anything practical. They leave practicalities up to their resident Brain InterActive Construct."

"Brain I.A.C. I get it." Then she continued. "I just don't want you to make the same mistake I did. I created lie after lie and layer after layer of facades. When my secret was exposed, it left me with a broken heart, a wounded spirit, and a broken dream." She seemed sullen for a moment.

"I am sorry about Thanagar, Shayera Hal, but I am not concerned about my past right now. It's Supergirl and Superman. I seem to be caught in the middle of something. I'm not sure what to do."

"I know a thing or two about that myself, but you didn't let me finish. When I heard your story, I contacted an old friend of mine on your behalf. He helped me find my path, and he is a man of wisdom."

"Hmph. I have a 12th level intelligence."

"That just means you're smart. It doesn't necessarily make you wise. Knowledge is just an accumulation of facts. Wisdom is its application. You've actually demonstrated that you are capable of such insight. You were able to recall a story from earth's lore. That is knowledge. You were able to see the story behind the story and were able to relate it to your life. That is wisdom. Wisdom is something that the Brainiac I know is not capable of."

"Indeed, Shayera Hal," a voice resounded from what seemed to be another dimension.

There was a bright yellow light. A man wearing a yellow cape appeared. I recognized his helmet as that belonging to…

"Dr. Fate, I presume?"

"Greetings, Brainiac 5."

"Your voice! It was you inside my head, wasn't it? You were the one telling me to master my thoughts."

"Your mind was full of chaos," he said simply.

"So, you helped me get control."

"No. You did that on your own. I merely gave you the key. To unlock the door, was up to you. Fear not. I did not delve too deeply into your psyche. Your secrets are still your own."

I realized what Shayera and Fate had done for me.

"I believe that I owe you my thanks, Dr Fate, and to you, Shayera Hal."

Shayera turned and shouted in the direction of a nearby cornfield. "Come on out! I think we're done here!"

I heard the sound of rustling and Supergirl emerged looking sheepish. Shayera look amused.

"You need to work on your stealth skills," said Shayera.

Supergirl nodded slowly. Dr. Fate walked up to Supergirl and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Be patient with Kal-El. He truly does love you."

Kara smiled. "I know. I love the big lug too."

"Farewell."

"Thanks, Doc."

Dr. Fate turned to me.

"You have a job to do. I suggest that you make haste and return to your time. Save your friends. Save our future."

Now it was my turn to nod slowly.

"Farewell." He disappeared in a flash of light.

"I should be going too." Shayera began to walk away. "I'm sure that John is ready to chew me out." She smirked.

I called out to her. "Wait! I need to know something."

"Yes?"

"You seem to be so content, so peaceful. How are you able to do it?"

"Most people go through their entire lives never knowing that peace. The best thing I can tell you is that you have to accept who you are and what has happened in the past. Then, you will be ready to change your present and face the future. It sounds cliché, I know, but it is true. I hope you find your peace, Brainiac 5. Good-bye."

She signaled the Watchtower and disappeared.

I felt tense being left alone with Supergirl. I still didn't know what to say to her. Our backs were to each other. There was an awkward silence.

"We have to look at each other at some point, Vril, if that is your name. Or is it Querl, Quill, or whatever?"

"It doesn't matter now."

Okay, Brainiac 5, just get this over with. We turned to each other at the same time. Again, there was an awkward pause but she spoke first.

"Look, I've had enough soul searching conversations for one day."

"Agreed."

"Plus, I don't want to get into another scuffle. Wouldn't want you to have another nervous breakdown." She spoke with her arms crossed and a mischievous smile on her face.

How did my day end up being so horrible?

"H-How did you know?"

"Give me some credit." She pointed to her ears. "Ever heard of super hearing? I didn't wander too far."

She took her cape back and unzipped the jacket.

"Is this wise? What if I'm seen?"

"Don't worry. It's getting dark and there's no one out here. This town is pretty much dead after sundown."

As she had twice before, she traced the symbol on my chest.

"Why do you like doing that?"

She smiled. "Why are all the smart ones so dumb?"

She was about my height. I was probably taller by a few inches. She just leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the lips. As she straightened up, she smiled wickedly.

"Supergirl, you do realize that I'm…"

"What? A robot? Yes. A Brainiac? Yes. A bundle of contradictions right down to the synthetic blonde hair? Ohhh, yeah! Maybe one day you will get over yourself and deal with it." She looked around and then picked me up.

"Nobody's watching, Brain Box. It's VROOM time!"

"It's what?"

The scenery passed me in a blur. When we stopped, she set me down. We were back at the high school stadium. There was a lamppost near the bleachers. Green Arrow and Superman were sitting by it playing some sort of card game. Superman turned to us. He seemed pleased to see Supergirl and me return together. He walked toward us as Green Arrow gathered up the cards.

"I'm still angry at you, Clark!" Supergirl pushed a finger into his chest.

He smiled. "I know."

I turned my attention to Green Arrow.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you." I wasn't asking a question.

His silence was deafening. It was frustrating.

"I have read every file on behavior and psychology on humans, Durlans, Titans, and over 20 other different species in the galaxy. Still, I was unable to foresee any of this. I guess there is something to be said for wisdom after all."

"Live and learn, Junior. Live and learn." He started shuffling his cards and looked at Supergirl. "Hey, Kara, how about we put an end to this semi perfect day with a friendly competitive game of Go Fish?"

"You're on, Robin Hood!"

She took his arm.

"Supergirl…Kara," I said.

She looked at me expectantly. I suddenly felt foolish, but I decided to say it anyway.

"Happy Sweet 16."

She kissed my cheek. Despite my inner resolve to never let her get to me again, I found myself smiling in spite of myself. Supergirl had broken through my defenses with a machine-like precision that would even make my people proud.

"See you in the history books, tapes, or whatever. 'Kay, Genius?"

I nodded and handed her the bowl.

"Give this back to Mrs. Kent. Tell her I said 'thank you.' By all that I am, thank you."

"Sure. Ready, Ollie?"

He nodded. "Don't worry, Kara, Brainiac 5 is in good hands."

Supergirl looked at me. "So is Clark," she smiled warmly. "Hit it, Mr. Terrific!"

As they disappeared, I sensed that under a different set of circumstances, Green Arrow, Supergirl, and I have met before. I had the briefest recollection that I was an organic being, and that Supergirl and I were together. Then, it was gone.

Now it was just Superman and me. There was so much to be said, but somehow we knew that this wasn't the time.

"Looks like we got more than we bargained for, huh." He stated.

"Indeed."

"I'm sorry." He avoided my gaze as he spoke.

"For what, Superman? You have not wronged me in any way."

He slowly looked at me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Ahh, Brainy, can I ever do wrong in your eyes? I've never done right by Kara. I keep pushing her away. I pushed you off on her just so I could avoid spending time with her. I wasn't being fair to either of you. Still, I don't think that I have ever seen you so happy. It's nice to see you smile."

"I am reminded of my mission, Superman. I erroneously let my emotions override my logic. I assure you that once again I am operating at my fullest capacity."

He released my shoulders, chuckled, and shook his head. "Yep. Same ol' Brainy. Let's go save our friends."

As I activated the Time Bubble, I suddenly felt a sense of peace. I don't recall ever having experienced this before. Was this what Shayera was talking about? It was a wonderful feeling and I was optimistic about our chances! We would help Saturn Girl and Matter Eater Lad. I felt that we could even save Triplicate Girl's other self. No villain, no war, and no tragedy could ever steal that moment from me. I then realized that I started feeling this way when I had focused on one thought; Superman was once again fighting with the Legion...with me.

THE END

A/N: When Brainy went back to get Superman, I bet that the conversation took no more than 15 or so odd minutes. I just wanted an excuse to do a Legion/Justice League crossover. Tee Hee.

My other posted story, "Shattered Illusions," is actually the epilogue to this story and is told from Superman's angst-like point of view. It was able to stand on its own as a separate story. Hope you enjoyed them both!

Finally, I wanted to give a shout out to Laura for inspiring me to write fanfiction again. She was my beta reader. You can check out her Legion fics (and many others) at distasis dot com.

You go, Girl!